Loneliness

My wife and baby are in memphis visiting family (and fleeing the 85 foot tall tree we are having cut down), and so you might think this post is about that. It is not.

I am simply amazed by the ways we (and by 'we' I mean myself) put ourselves out there. I have a podcast, a blog, a facebook, a myspace, an e-mail address, and an AIM name. I have GREAT reasons for each one: podcast - Mike asked me to do one, and I can't refuse Mike anything. Blog - lately, it is my excuse to put pictures of my daughter all over the place. Facebook - I'm a youth pastor, I can comunicate with 100 kids in three minutes using Facebook. Myspace - there are friends who only use Myspace, and that is the only way to read their blogs. E-mail - I have sent over 5000 e-mails since I came to work for Greentree. AIM - I have had blzrscool for 13 years now!

Anyway, I am amazed at how we put ourselves out there (often different selves for different venues), and yet we are still so lonely. Chap Clark said (to 700 Jr. high kids) that loneliness is the human condition. I think he is right, and when I think about how lonely most people (and myself many days) are, my heart is broken.

I wonder if the great irony is going to be all this technology pushing us back into human contact because it is such a great need in all of our lives. I wonder if the lesser irony, everyone sitting at coffeeshops typing away with their headphones on, will ever strike anyone like it does me...

Thoughts?